Share this on social media

Germany sees progress in EU talks for ban on fossil fuel cars

(Reuters, 20 Mar 2023) Talks between Germany's Transport Ministry and the European Commission about the planned end of new combustion engines from 2035 are moving forward, the ministry said on Monday, but added it could not say when an agreement would be reached.

After months of negotiations, the European Parliament, the Commission and European Union member states agreed last year to the law that would require new cars sold in the EU from 2035 to have zero CO2 emissions - effectively making it impossible to sell combustion engine cars from that date.

But Germany this month declared its last-minute opposition. It wants sales of new cars with internal combustion engines to be allowed after that date if they run on e-fuels.

"There are positive trends that are a good basis for further talks," a spokesman for the ministry told a news conference.

The ministry, run by the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), proposed last week that the Commission should provide a separate vehicle category for cars that run only on e-fuels, a letter from the ministry to the EU executive seen by Reuters showed.

External link

Reuters, 20 Mar 2023: Germany sees progress in EU talks for ban on fossil fuel cars